Everybody knew it was not wise to eat the end of a banana. How big of a piece they would leave was their discretion.
Somehow, a belief was constructed that there is a particular species of an African fly that lays eggs in the end of the bananas.
(Don’t ask how, let’s leave this as one of the mysteries of the 90s in Eastern Europe.)
Let’s assume for a moment it was true, as a mind of a 9-year old did.
The obvious consequence of eating the end of the banana was exposing yourself to the risk of eating flies’ eggs, which would then, naturally, hatch in your stomach. A simple cause and effect reasoning. Only perhaps lacking probability constraints at each step.
Get it, Benji? So, don’t eat that part of the banana. Period.
Simple as it sounds, it still was a sophisticated story for 9-year olds. If it came from adults, it was as plausible as their claims that water boils at a different temperature when you’re in the mountains, and that uncle Vlad can turn any vegetable into liquor.
Most of what came from adults was bizarre, we had to take some of it at face value. Otherwise, we’d never take lunchboxes to school “because who are you to tell me that I will be hungry later, huh, dad?”
Because of this confusing African fly element, somewhere along the line of transmission, the complexity of the banana story got reduced to a click-bait slogan. The end of the banana had The Bacteria. The Bacteria with a capital B.
Hey Stacy, did you know the end of the banana has THE Bacteria?!
Imagine the dread! The banana-fear! The life-saving “inside knowledge” you could share with others! Imagine the, pardon the pun, viral spread of The Bacteria.
The most severe consequence of eating The Bacteria, wasn’t the prospect of a sudden death from a tropical disease. Rather, that other kids would think you were stupid. Also, after you ate The Bacteria, you probably had The Bacteria, were contaminated, and no one would pick you for their football team at PE anymore.
Imagine the dread! The fear of rejection! The simple way to belong to the insider club of non-disgusting non-bacteria-touched kids!
Just leave out the end of the banana.
I sometimes wondered, why would they even give us bananas at all, if such a mortal threat resided at their end? Cruel adults gambling with our lives.
If I was older, and more politically inclined, I could have easily turned into an anti-adult conspiracy.
